


Sky Walking

by Pepper (Zalt)



Series: Walking the Rainbow [2]
Category: Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, spoilers for Thrawn Alliances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-21
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-08-05 09:38:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16365413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zalt/pseuds/Pepper
Summary: The Chimaera has been lost since the purrgil attacked. Now, it is time to go home.





	Sky Walking

**Author's Note:**

> My one-shot turned into a trilogy. This follows "There is no place like home" and the final part is "Rainbow's End".

The bridge of the _Chimaera_ was abuzz with activity, an undercurrent of excitement palpable despite the entirely professional and controlled activities of the crew. This was the first time in nearly a year that the engines had been brought up to full power. And more importantly, the first time in a decade that the ship would attempt to enter hyperspace.

Thrawn and Arihnda Pryce had withdrawn to the back of the bridge as they watched the last of the repeated pre-tests and checklists being completed. And most of all, watching the youngest member of the bridge crew.

Even their spirited and relentlessly cheerful daughter had been gripped by the solemnity of the occasion, and was currently deep in grave conversation with Ezra and a crew navigator. Ras was wearing a small version of the crew uniforms, cut down to a ten-year olds size and devoid of markings. There were no boots to be had in her size, so she wore her usual cloth slippers, an incongruously bright red against all the grey and black and olive.

Arihnda had been of two minds about the uniform. She had always done her best to give Ras something as close to a normal human childhood as she could manage given their very strange circumstances. With a lack of clothing stores or any other supply of new cloth, that meant the girl had spent her toddler years in amateurishly stitched clothing mostly in reds and whites recycled from imperial flags and banners.

Thrawn was utterly unperturbed by the thought of his daughter wearing a uniform, telling Arihnda more than once that this was usual among the sky walkers of his people, and that it was an honorable and practical choice. In the end, he as always relented to Arihnda’s choice with good grace. It was a minor thing, after all.

But then Ras herself had decided she wanted to wear a uniform, like her friends on the bridge, and particularly like her navigator friends who had been teaching her the controls of the _Chimaera_ in preparation for her big day. And she had confronted her mother over the issue, prepared for a fight. The sight of the two of them facing off, Ras with her tiny determined face and hands clenched like a mini mirror version of Arihnda herself, had rendered Thrawn helpless with laughter. Arihnda had given in (with far less grace) in the face of their united opposition.

"Ezra is confident that the time is right. Her powers are the strongest they will likely ever be. And the navigators assure me that she has been well trained, and that they stand ready to step in if something should go wrong. We can be out of hyperspace in a matter of seconds." Thrawn had that particularly patient tone he used with her when she was on edge.

Arihnda sighed, and mentally granted him the point, this time. As desperate as she had once been to leave their prison among the star factories, she now feared the risk and the immense burden placed on their daughter.

And, though she had never admitted this aloud, she also worried what would happen if they did get safely out. Circumstances had brought her and Thrawn together, and whatever mystical Force Ezra Bridger believed in appeared to have brought about their surprise child together. They had made peace for the sake of Ras, to bring her up as a family. And they had grown close to each other in the process. Their intimate moments had gone from being a desperate distraction from their circumstances to gentler and loving explorations of each others bodies, and then to a different kind of intimacy where they spoke long into the night, exchanging secrets and hopes. Would that last, once they rejoined the real world?

Aloud, she said. "You are right, of course. And Ras needs us to be confident in her. There is nothing else we can do to help her, now."

As if on cue, the final signal was given. The preparations were complete, the ship and staff were ready to attempt the journey through hyperspace. It had been years since they had dared to move at more than sublight speeds, the violent forces of creation around them tearing at the structure of hyperspace and twisting it around at a rate far higher than any navcomputer could keep up with. It was all up to their daughter now.

Though the only visible inheritance from her father were her bright red eyes, she had also inherited a rare gift exclusive to some chiss children – a second sight that left her able to visualize the paths through hyperspace, and a precognition that allowed her to react to the volatile changes and twists in time to lead a ship safely through the otherwise unpredictable parts of hyperspace.

Thrawn and Arihnda walked up to Ras as she climbed into the chair in front of her own navigational console, several pillows giving her the height to see all the displays properly. The controls had been modified to be usable by smaller hands by the best engineers of the _Chimaera_. All was as ready as it could be. They gave her a gentle hug each, smiling and telling her how proud they were of her and that they loved her. She returned the hugs, uncommonly quiet and grave. And then they stood aside to let Ezra join her. The Jedi (also wearing an unmarked uniform) placed his hand gently on the girl’s shoulder, lending her his own strength in the Force.

The engines engaged. The _Chimaera_ moved, ponderously turning in the direction Ras had declared to be the "shiniest" path. She was unable to explain what that meant in terms anyone else could make sense of, but seemed confident in her choice.

The ship accelerated. Still at sublight, their surroundings seemed unchanged on the viewscreen. Massive clusters of newborn stars within a dense nebula, giving the impression of claustrophobic closeness despite being months and years away at sublight speed. Critical speed was reached. And Ras placed her hand on the largest control on her console, holding on so tightly her knuckles turned white, and then pulled it towards her. The _Chimaera_ made the jump to lightspeed.

There was a collective gasp on the bridge, however soft, as the stars turned into white streaks and then vanished, replaced by the familiar sight of hyperspace. Or nearly familiar – where hyperspace usually appeared as a wavering tunnel of white and blue, almost like flying through a tunnel in the clouds, this time the view was darker and filled with flashes of color. It churned around them, giving the impression of falling into a yawning, hungry vortex. Suddenly, the vortex twisted – but simultaneous, the _Chimaera_ shuddered and adjusted, remaining in the center of the path. Ras had a look of fierce concentration as her hands moved swiftly and surely over the console, making adjustments to their path.

The ship shuddered and groaned again, at another swift correction in course. The crew remained professional. Silent lest they break the girls concentration, they limited their reports to flashing messages of texts. Integrity intact. Fuel consumption within parameters. Estimated distance traversed, two lightyears so far.

Arihnda found herself moving closer to Thrawn, seeking what comfort could be found in his stoic calmness. At a particularly violent lurch, she grabbed at his arm, clinging on. He steadied her, and when the ship was calm once more he placed his arm around her, holding her close for the duration of their journey.

Time went by with the odd shudder and groan as the ship turned. Then they hit a rough patch. Flashing messages estimated they were passing through the densest part of the surrounding nebula. Ezra’s hand tightened visibly on Ras’s shoulder. The girl had grown paler, her eyes wide and unseeing, fixed somewhere in the distance. She operated her console by touch, steering the massive ship through each danger and around every obstacle, while her co-navigator kept an eye on fine-tuning the performance of the engines and standing ready to take over if they needed to abort.

But Ras endured. On the viewscreen, the churning clouds turned paler, the flashes of color becoming more sparse, then disappearing entirely. They were flying through normal hyperspace. Arihnda expected Ras to take the ship back into normal space now that the danger was past, but they continued on. The girl looked van and exhausted, but her fierce determination still burned. And then she spoke, in a whisper only heard because everyone else on the bridge was silent.

"There’s a planet. It shines so bright. Like rainbows. I want to see a real rainbow. It’s right over there..." She finally lifted her hands away from the console, pointing at something only she could see.

And then she slumped, Ezra catching her at the last moment before she fell from the chair. The crew navigator reacted swiftly, bringing the ship out of hyperspace. Normal space surrounded them, a peaceful darkness with scattered pinpoints of stars. And one radiant yellow sun right where Ras had pointed.

Thrawn and Arihnda ignored the sight, rushing to their daughters side. Ezra lowered her carefully to the floor, supporting her as a medic quickly joined them to tend to her. A tense minute passed until the medic declared that Ras appeared to be exhausted, but otherwise well. The Jedi looked drained himself, but placed his hands on either side of her face and closed his eyes in concentration. And soon, Ras opened her eyes, blinking up in momentary confusion at the people looming over her. And then she smiled, brilliant and happy. "We did it! Did you see, Ezra? I followed the shiny path, and it curled and twisted and tried to throw us out, and I still followed it!"

Ras struggled to get to her feet with the resilience and exuberance of a child, exhaustion nearly forgotten. She was still unsteady, and Ezra reached for her again to steady her. But this time Arihnda was faster, clutching her daughter to herself and lifting her up. "You did it, darling. You brought us out. And now we will go and find your rainbow."

She turned to the viewport, so Ras could see the sun before them. Ezra stepped up on one side of them, and Thrawn on the other, once more placing his arm around Arihnda. And all around them on the bridge cheers and celebration erupted. They were finally free.

 

***


End file.
